BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) LSU coach Ed Orgeron insists that he always thought of Steve Ensminger as a top candidate for offensive coordinator.

Orgeron offered a mea culpa Thursday, saying he only demoted Ensminger back to tight ends coach in 2017 to fulfill a pledge to hire big-name offensive coach who could bring a fresh, innovative scheme to LSU.

Orgeron's hiring of Matt Canada didn't work out, and Orgeron cannot explain why because LSU's $1.7 million settlement bars public discussion of the reasons for Canada's departure after only one season.